Piece by Piece
by SuburbanSherlock
Summary: The one who wishes to harness the power of the phoenix stone must be prepared to shoulder the consequences which will arise. For every life that is brought back, one must...' Bonnie Bennett was playing with fire and she wasn't the only one who would get burnt. Little did she know the consequences would affect her love life too. [BAMON - NOT FOLLOWING TV SHOW]
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: all characters are owned by LJ Smith/The CW network.**_

* * *

 _"The one who wishes to harness the power of the phoenix stone must be prepared to shoulder the consequences which will arise. For every life that is brought back, one must be taken in order to restore balance to nature."_

'Damon,' Bonnie protested, 'I can't translate this.'

She was eating, sleeping and breathing the mastery of the phoenix stone, head buried in a grimoire found in Oscar's possession. Damon was lounging on Caroline's sofa next to her, watching a Mets game on the television.

'Squint harder, Judgy.'

'It wouldn't hurt to help me out, _best friend,_ " she replied, the last two words emphasised with scorn. 'Since when are you into baseball?'

He flashed a lazy smile at the witch. 'Since I realised the only person who can work out this mumbo-jumbo is you.'

'I need a drink. I'd ask you to bust out a bottle of Salvatore vintage but your house is still infested with heretics.'

'Ouch. Bonnie Bennett bites. And here I thought I was the vampire.'

She grinned, throwing the book into her shoulder bag and heading for the door. 'You comin'?'

'To the Grill? No thanks.'

'Damon Salvatore saying no to alcohol? Who are you?'

'Very funny. But if you really wanna know, Alaric's been having terrible mood swings all day.'

'And?'

"And,' he repeated, 'He's gonna be there drinking his sorrows away wondering why you're not looking for ways to resurrect his dead wifey. Have you seen angry Alaric?'

'It's a good job I'll have a vampire to keep him in check then. Emphasis on _vampire_.'

Damon narrowed his eyes, not one to turn down a battle of wits. "It's a good job you're a witch so you can keep him in check yourself. Emphasis on _witch_.'

'Touché,' groaned Bonnie in defeat. 'Come on, just one drink. You know I can't face Alaric's puppy dog eyes alone.'

'Fine." But before Bonnie had a chance to be smug, he added, 'Drinks are on you.'


	2. Chapter 2

'Bourbon and-'

'Rum and coke.'

'-rum and coke for the lady.'

'Do you see him?' asked Bonnie, scanning the Mystic Grill with eagle eyes.

'No signs of him yet,' replied Damon, leaning against the bar counter.

Matt's recent evacuation warnings meant the place should've been deserted. But a few brave souls still lingered knowing the new sheriff couldn't round them all up.

'Relax, Bon. He probably went home.'

Damon turned around and took a sip of his drink, only to be greeted by a rather drunken Alaric behind him.

'Still here. Gotta let out all the water at some point,' he said as he stumbled and slouched over a stool. 'Bathroom break,' he reiterated when Bonnie frowned at him.

'Yeah, I got it, Ric,' she replied, glancing at Damon with concern. 'You okay?'

'Peachy. The urinal? Not so much.'

'Okay, buddy. Time to take you home,' said Damon, pulling Alaric up. His gesture of goodwill was returned with a harsh shove into one of the tables.

'No. Get off of me. This is my home. Bartender, fill 'em up.'

Damon lifted a hand to tell Bonnie he was okay after recovering his stance.

'Bartender, don't even think about filling it up,' he scowled, compelling the guy to continue polishing the shot glass. 'You've had enough drinks for one night.'

'Go away, Damon. Go and find a way to bring back Jo. I want Jo.'

'Ric,' started Bonnie, bracing herself for the widower's words of grief. 'It's not that simple. I'm trying-'

'Well, try harder,' he growled, in a fashion similar to Damon. The vampire's influence on him was glaringly obvious in the heat of the moment.

'I can't read the spell-'

'What _can_ you do, Bonnie? All you do is whine and judge. Stop whining and stop judging me.'

Bonnie staggered a little as the words cut like knives. _"Vatos."_

Alaric's empty glass shattered in a flurry of small, crystal shards.

"You're just a stupid, useless-" he continued, his slurred words coming to an end when Damon's fist shot out and slammed square into his jaw.


	3. Chapter 3

Bonnie and Damon were back in her dorm room as the clock struck three a.m. Alaric had been tucked into his bed hours earlier.

'Witching hours are over. Time to sleep,' muttered Damon, tossing on the bed.

Bonnie's head was still in the grimoire, filled with a newfound determination to prove Alaric wrong.

'Is my breathing bothering you that much?'

'Watch it, witchy. I'm only looking out for you.'

'Sorry,' she sighed, 'It's just- what Ric said earlier-'

'Oh, come on. You're not actually taking his words to heart, are you?' interrupted Damon, both baffled and amused.

'No. Yes? I don't know. Jo's body expired weeks ago.'

'So? Ric can keep paying the pathologist. I'll compel him if he decides to rat us out.'

Bonnie looked up from the book, the gentle flicker of the dim light shadowing her soft features.

'It's not that. This whole thing is so messed up. It's unnatural, Damon. It's necromancy,' she shuddered.

Damon raised his eyebrows. As a dead man who had been alive for centuries, he couldn't empathise.

'It didn't bother you this much when we revived Oscar.'

'Oscar wasn't pregnant with twins. And you saw his blood lust. What if that happens to Jo? And her unborn babies?'

'Ripper babies on a rampage. Donovan would have a hell of a time running after them,' he smirked.

'It's not funny, Damon. Grams always said that spells concerning life and death had side-effects. We've seen one. It's like when you have to read the small print before signing a contract.'

'Except, we didn't do that so Oscar went a little loopy.'

'Yes. I'm guessing the small print is this little bit I can't translate. I got the first sentence - 'The one who wishes to harness the power of the phoenix stone must be prepared to shoulder the consequences which will arise'.'

'Spooky,' Damon commented, shining the torch on his ghostly face.

'The rest is written in different handwriting. Pretty bad handwriting.'

'The blood lust was the consequence, clearly.'

' _Consequences_. Plural,' she stressed.

'You're just being pedantic.'

'Maybe. It can't be that important if it's just a note in the margins, right?'

'Right. Maybe someone just really likes annotations.'


	4. Chapter 4

' _Dear Elena_ ', wrote Bonnie in the collective diary, ' _I haven't been completely honest in the previous entries_.'

She twirled her left hand, watching the snow white feathers stay afloat in the air.

' _I keep having these nightmares. I see flashes and hear screaming. So much screaming_.'

Oscar made her visions disappear but he left something much worse in its wake.

She squeezed her eyes shut and flinched at the thought. But that quick, momentary reaction triggered the nightmares again and she saw the same sea of faces. Then she snapped her eyes open, breathing raggedly.

The witch allowed herself a sigh of relief, realising she hadn't woken up on the floor again. Her vision was different this time and only seconds had passed.

' _It happened again, just now_ ,' she continued writing with shaky hands. ' _It's not just random faces anymore. I know all the faces. Yours, Stefan's, Damon's, Caroline's... Jeremy and Tyler. I saw Grams too. And your parents. I don't understand what's going on_.'

She slammed the pen down to rub her temples and dull the throbbing ache.

' _I saw happy memories. Remember Thanksgiving at your parent's place that year your mom got a promotion? And the time we snuck out to that party in 8th grade? They kept replaying on a loop_.'

The feathers lay on the table, limp. Bonnie couldn't muster up the energy to make them float again. It was the most basic of spells. It was supposed to be effortless.

' _But after a while they were swallowed up by some flames and then the screaming started. It's still ringing in my ears. I feel like someone put their hand in my brain and pulled something out. I can't describe it._ _ _Am I going crazy?_ '_

 _Elena wouldn't want to read about this crap_ , she thought to herself. Grumbling, she tore out the page and scrunched it in a ball, throwing it into the fireplace just as Damon waltzed into the room. A millisecond longer and he could've snatched the piece of paper out of her hand.

'Okay, so Ric says he will apologise to you in person once he meets us at the morgue. You can thank me later. He needs to run an errand first so he told me to tell you to get a head start with the spell. Though what could be more important than getting Jo back is beyond me and- you okay, Bon?' he asked, staring at the witch who had a vacant expression painted on her face.

'Hm?' asked Bonnie, lost in her thoughts. 'Yeah, just give me a minute to finish writing this.'

'Okie dokie. I'll wait in the car.'

' _Dear Elena_ ,' she tried again, ' _Caroline's diary entries are a lot better - she always has something interesting to say. Love, Bonnie._ '


	5. Chapter 5

_(Set after Jo wakes up in 07x5 but with a little twist of events...)_

* * *

Jo was alive...but she wasn't Jo. Just as Oscar wasn't really Oscar. Bonnie stood over her shrouded body grimacing, which had been a cadaver mere seconds before.

'Jo?' she asked.

Faint rushes of blood were returning to the woman's cheeks but she blinked several times, confused.

'Who?'

'Josette Laughlin? Witchy witch from the Gemini coven? Twin brother went cuckoo and killed you?' asked Damon, rather bitingly.

'How?'

'He-'

'No, wait, I remember,' said Jo, 'I was- I was stabbed right in the heart.'

'Nope, that's not what happened, Jo.'

'Who? That's- that's not my name.'

' _Okay then_ , random soul confirmed,' stated Damon, turning to Bonnie for a solution. But she didn't have one. All she had were answers from previous questions, and more questions to find answers to.

'Ow,' she winced all of a sudden, recoiling into the cold metal of the morgue drawers.

'Bonnie? Bonnie! Hey, wake up...'

Damon's voice melted away along with her visual perception. The bursts of flashes took their rightful place again in her visions, accompanied by a cry of distress. She knew that voice...

'Ric!' she yelled out, unsure of whether her outburst was verbal or merely a thought in this nightmare, illusion, apparition, whatever it was.

He materialised in front of her, as clear as day, almost as if she reach out and touch him. Before she had a chance to even try, a spasm of intense pain contorted his face and then he vanished.

'Ric!'

She was back in the morgue, weak at the knees and gasping for air.

Damon attempted to lift her, 'Let's get you up-'

'No! Go and find Ric. Now.'

He looked on helplessly, and then left in the fraction of a second. She grabbed onto a table for support, as her grim surroundings swam into view.

'Who's Ric?' asked Jo, surprisingly nonchalant.

'Your husband.'

A shrill sound echoed across the high ceilings of the room moments later as Bonnie's phone rang.

'I found Ric,' reported Damon. It was hard to deduce whether he had good news or bad news.

'Please tell me he's okay,' she whimpered in reply.

'He's dead.'


	6. Chapter 6

Bonnie found Damon kneeling over Alaric's dead body, his face a mix between disbelief and dejection.  
Jo had walked in behind her through the doorway, unfazed by the rug seeped in blood.

'Is that him?' she asked.

'How did this happen?' asked Damon in return, looking up at Bonnie from the floor with glassy eyes.  
The last time she had seen him like this was when Elena fell into her long slumber.

'I don't know- I...'

'Yeah, you do. Think! You told me to go and check up on him. You knew...'

'I didn't know he was going to die,' she whispered, an apology stuck in her throat. 'I had those visions again. I tried calling out and nothing happened. I don't think he could even see me...he just screamed and screamed and-'

'Fix this. You can fix this, Bon.'

'I know what you're thinking. It's not going to work,' she replied, unable to take her eyes off her undertaking. This was all her doing and she couldn't shake it off so easily.

'I wasn't asking. I'm going to get him off the floor and into the next room and you're going to use the stone on him.'

'I'm not touching that thing.'

'This is Alaric. Not some random local off the street, Bonnie!'

'Fuck you, Damon. You don't know what that wretched thing does.'

He ignored her and did as he said he would. The blood dripped off the body, leading a trail into the front room. Bonnie followed silently, stunned by what she saw next.

A bouquet of roses sat on the mantle of the fireplace. Wine glasses stood lonely on the table with empty dinner plates. The entire place was tidier than Bonnie had seen it in months. But surely Ric had gone overboard, she thought, until Damon read her thoughts and answered the question.

'It's Jo's birthday. He wanted to surprise her.'

She took a moment to contemplate the guilt-trip. Did she want to go through that agonising ordeal again? She knew that abusing magic meant paying the cost but she also respected the sanctity of marriage and this was, after all, Ric they were talking about...


	7. Chapter 7

_AN: I feel so heartless killing off Alaric! I mean, did you guys see the way he bawled as faux-Jo was dying in the last episode?! I'll give him a nice send-off. No Alaric h8 for this chapter, okay?_

* * *

Alaric was dead. Jo had died too, feeling the aftereffects of a vampire soul trapped in a weak, human body soon after.

'I should have stopped him,' growled Damon. 'We saw what that stone did and still, we- no, _I_ encouraged you, Bon.'

The wind whistled through the air, stirring up the autumn leaves in the graveyard.

'It's not your fault, okay? I made my own choices. As Ric made his.'

A priest was conducting the funeral, his voice a low murmur reciting the prayers.

'This is such bullshit,' stated Damon.

Matt threw a side glance at the heavy-hearted vampire, about to open his mouth but Bonnie stopped him.

'Not now, Damon.'

'Back me up here. You know it's true.'

She looked up with a soft gaze and squeezed his hand. To Damon, it was the only source of warmth he could feel in his heart.

'I do. Of course I do.'

Damon had offered to lower the bodies down after the dues were paid and everyone left. A moment longer spent outside meant a moment unspent in the presence of alcohol. Very strong alcohol.

'Here, let me,' offered Bonnie, pulling him away from the edge of the rectangular pit.

She held his hand with her left, and with her right, she raised her arm in the air with a delicate twirl of her nimble fingers.

The two coffins flew up and landed in the graves, as light as feathers, barely making a sound.

Magic was a powerful thing, thought Damon, as a sensation of closure washed over him. When he closed his eyes, he saw it in the form of colours. Closure transformed from a dusty pink to a vibrant purple, fading slowly as he opened his eyes.

'Thank you,' he said, as he kneeled on the ground, collecting a mound of dirt in the palm of his hand and throwing it over the wooden boxes.

'You're welcome. And for what it's worth, Damon...you were right. It's bullshit. We don't know if there's a heaven or hell out there.'

'Is there anything out there, Bon?'

'Now that the Other Side is gone? I don't know. All I _do_ know is that we can just keep our fingers crossed and hope that wherever Jo and Alaric are, they're together.'


	8. Chapter 8

_AN: Bonenzo is NOT, I repeat, NOT endgame, okay? I don't care what Julie Plec and the other TVD writers are doing with the plot but there is zero chemistry between them and I am not okay with this ship at all._

* * *

Bonnie and Damon were waiting outside the Salvatore house, after ringing the door bell.

'Just try not to kill Julian again.'

'Fallen for his devilishly handsome looks already, have we, Bon-bon?'

'Please, he _literally_ beats the crap out of pregnant women and he gives me the creeps.'

'Good', he stated.

'Jealous?' asked Bonnie, cocking her head to one side and smirking.

But the door opened before Damon could retort with a comeback. He greeted his mother instead, who was dressed in a wrap dress and heels.

'Momma Salvatore. We need to talk.'

'It's important,' said Bonnie. 'You gonna let us in?'

'So you can kill me again?' said Julian from behind, snaking his arms around Lily's waist. 'Sorry kids, we're on our way out to dinner. One that doesn't involve any bloodshed. Are you ready, love?'

Damon threw up a little in his mouth. 'Cute. But my business with my mother doesn't involve you. Count yourself lucky.'

'It's okay, my love,' said Lily. 'Whatever they have to say will only take a moment.'

Julian narrowed his blue eyes, bowed his head in Bonnie's direction with a smirk and left them alone. _Yep, still creepy_ , she thought.

'If this is about our plan-' started Lily, speaking in a low whisper.

'No- like I'd be stupid enough to talk about that here with your witchy kids around. It's about the phoenix stone.'

'Why do you still have that?'

'Uh, because it brings people back from the dead? Something bad happened with my friend, Ric and, well, we tried to bring his wife back from the dead but then _he_ ended up dead. Why did that happen?'

Lily's eyes grew wide and she turned to the fellow witch.

'Miss Bennett, did you read the spell properly?'

'As far as I know.'

'What does that mean?'

'It means,' started Bonnie, biting her lip, 'that there were a few things I couldn't translate, so-'

'-we _may_ have ignored them,' finished Damon.

Lily shook her head, eyes full of pity. 'Oh, my son. I always thought Stefan was the naive one. How wrong I was.'


	9. Chapter 9

Lily's words rang in Damon's head, like a nonstop alarm.

 _'Isn't it obvious?'_

It hadn't seemed obvious at the time.

 _'Do you want to wait another fifty years to see her again?'_

Of course he didn't. His heart skipped a beat at the thought of her smile.

 _'This is the only way...'_

He poured himself another glass of Lockwood's finest from the cellar. It was the second bottle he had stolen. Nobody would notice. Nobody was around to notice.

Alaric was dead. Bonnie had disappeared in a huff. He didn't care enough to call her.

 _'You can bring her back...'_

Why did Lily manipulate him like that? What did she have to gain from feeding him lies; lies which were leeching on his vulnerable, intoxicated mind?

He yelled out, throwing his glass at the wall in frustration.

He paid no attention to Bonnie who had slipped inside the house.

'Take a picture, it lasts longer,' he said spitefully as she stared.

'I just came to grab my things.'

'I didn't ask.'

She shook her head. 'Don't do this, Damon.'

He didn't answer back. He just wanted to hurt her. Compel her. But compulsion was useless.

She could voodoo fry his brain in seconds.

'Don't tell me what to do, witchy.'

'Fine.'

'You don't listen to me when I tell you to do things.'

'You're right, I don't,' said Bonnie, indifferent. She just needed to give him time to register the absurd idea Lily had planted in her son's mind. She threw her bag over her shoulder.

'Don't you dare leave, Bonnie Bennett.'

'Goodnight, Damon.'

She turned on her heel only to have Damon block her path.

'I'm not going to use magic on you. You're drunk and you just need some time alone. Now move.'

'You suck.'

'Yep. I'm awful. I'm a terrible person for not wanting to commit suicide to bring Elena back.'

'It wouldn't be suicide, Bonnie! I'd make it painless.'

'No means no.'

'But this is Elena we're talking about. Your best friend.'

'Look what happened to Alaric. We don't know what we're dealing with and _anybody_ could die. And since when do you believe a word your mom has to say? Might I remind you she abandoned you and Stefan for her family of freaks?'

'Her plan makes sense. Let's just push aside the fact that she doesn't get any parenting awards. I'll kill you, Elena will wake up and then we'll use the stone to bring you back. _Voilà_ and Kai's plan goes kaboom.'

'I'll pass.'

'Don't be such a party pooper. I would never hurt you.'

'That's not the impression I'm getting right now,' said Bonnie, narrowing her eyes and pointing at the streaked veins under Damon's translucent skin. 'So, I'll say it one last time. Get out of my way.'


	10. Chapter 10

Bonnie drove and drove, mindlessly, not paying any attention to road signs.

She hated Mystic Falls; the place she once called home. She hated vampires, witches, the supernatural, magic, everything that had turned her naive little world upside down.

But most of all, she hated Damon for triggering this hatred. It was his obsession with the past that caused him trouble. Stefan was harmless when he had arrived. The tranquility of this town was only broken because Damon decided to stalk his brother and steal his girl. So where did the blame really lie? With Elena? For looking like Katherine Pierce? For being indecisive just like she was?

The irony didn't escape Bonnie - she still had no idea what to choose, which road sign to follow.

Bonnie felt an inkling of guilt for blaming Elena. But that's all it was, an inkling, and that surprised her. She slammed her brakes and put her head on the steering wheel. _You're an awful person_ , said Damon in her head. _Go away_ , she mumbled before setting off again.

It was like being in the Other Side all over again.

She was sick of being a lamb to the slaughter. What would happen if she followed through with Damon's plan? Elena would be back, with her perfectly straight hair, thick lashes and doe eyes. Damon would be swept up in the moment and they would forget about the world. Another baddie would find his way into Mystic Falls, endangering Elena and then who would they call? Not Ghostbusters, that's for sure. But Bonnie. Bonnie Bennett, the bringer of bliss and the magic meat they all feasted on until they were safe.

Darkness began to soak up the clouds above her head. It had been hours and nobody had called. Not even Damon. How had she grown to love this terrible person? And now she was bordering on jealousy? _Bon-bon's in lurve_ , she could imagine Damon saying with that cocky grin of his.

It wasn't long before he grew a pair of balls and called his best friend. She let it go to voicemail and put it on speaker.

'Bonnie, don't leave. Please. I won't ask you to do anything you don't want to do, I promise.'

His words were slurred but Damon was a sincere drunk. He was blunt and that was the only time he was 100% honest about his true feelings.

'Elena's gone. Alaric's gone. I can't...I can't keep losing people. Especially you. I need you, Bon. I-'

The voicemail cut off and Bonnie was suddenly struck by a nagging curiosity to hear the end of it. She promised herself not to fall for his words. At the very least, she owed him a goodbye.

Everybody left Damon without a goodbye and it seemed fate didn't want this to change.

As soon as Damon had picked up the phone, he heard the deafening crash of a truck.

The world fell silent for a few seconds, but not before he heard the final, faint whimper of the person he loved most in the world, his best friend, Bonnie Bennett.


	11. Chapter 11

Damon's phone tumbled onto the wooden floorboards. _You got me, witchy. Now we're even_.

'Is that a new spell you whipped up from the grimoire?', he chuckled to himself, taking another swig from his bottle. 'Cos if it is, it's pretty damn low, even for you.'

Someone knocked on the door. Bon-bon, he smirked to himself.

'A little early for April Fools, Bon-'

But finishing his sentence off would have been an insult to her, as someone as else was stood in her place. Someone who wasn't Bonnie.

'Hey, stranger.'

Her white dress hugged her petite figure. She was quite literally an angel at his door. But the angst in the air felt anything but heavenly.

'Elena,' uttered Damon, like he had no other words in his vocabulary.

His mouth went dry. His eyes dilated. His limbs stopped working. The same limbs which were supposed to pull his girlfriend into a long overdue embrace.

'I'm here,' she announced proudly with her head held high. Her chest heaved as she let out a sigh, groomed eyebrows furrowing in frustration. 'Damon?'

'You're here, which means- Bonnie- it happened- fuck.'

 _She's not dead. She can't be dead._

The denial washed over him in crashing waves. So much so that he was completely oblivious to what was supposed to matter- his dead girlfriend being not-so-dead on his doorstep.

'What are you talking about? What happened to Bonnie?' asked Elena softly, her words like wind chimes tinkling in the air.

'I'm dead. Again.'

Bonnie stood in between the two lovers, examining each of their faces as if they were frozen in time. They couldn't see her, hear her or touch her.

Elena was an open book. Bonnie could sense her disappointment, like a jilted bride at the altar. Her aura was bright pink slowly growing darker.

Damon on the other hand, was harder to read. The glow around him was an icy blue, like he wanted to submerge every part of his soul in arctic waters and never surface again.

'Relationship Advice 101, Damon. Smile when you see the love of your life.'

But he didn't smile. He just frowned. And his frown turned into a glare.


	12. Chapter 12

Fast forward a few hours and the tension in the air was strong enough to kill an Original.

'I'll order some Chinese. You must be hungry.'

'She hates Chinese, Damon,' said Bonnie, momentarily forgetting he couldn't hear her.

'It's fine, I'm not hungry,' replied Elena, motioning for him to come over and sit down. 'Talk to me, Damon.'

He had been on his feet since she turned up hours ago, unable to stand still.

'Are you tired? You should get some sleep.'

'Sleep is the last thing I need right now. I just want to talk. You're acting weird.'

'Am I?'

'Yeah.' she sighed. 'I know it's a lot to take in. But it's really me. I'm here.'

Elena took one of Damon's hands between her own and stroked it softly.

He pulled it back as if her skin was laced with vervain.

'Uh-oh,' remarked Bonnie, standing idly by the staircase. It was like watching a soap opera. But very real and very awkward. She watched Elena clench her first.

'Sorry,' said Damon, avoiding his girlfriend's pained expression. 'I'm really glad you're here...'

'But?'

'There's more to the story.'

He stood up again and paced the room, recalling the story of the Phoenix stone. He brushed over the Gemini twin baby drama with Caroline and the Heretics. He talked about the bad times with Bonnie and resurrecting Jo. But he skipped the good parts.

He didn't want to share those. He knew a little piece of him would die if he let Elena into that forbidden territory. It involved feelings and thoughts he didn't want to admit to himself, let alone his girlfriend.

Bonnie could feel this secrecy too. In fact, it was the thing that was holding her back here.

She wasn't sure where 'here' was. The Other Side had been destroyed long ago but this felt just like that realm. It was tranquil but lonely.

When that truck had hit her car earlier, it was relatively painless. She heard hundreds, if not thousands of welcoming voices calling her name, beckoning her somewhere. But one voice was strong enough to pull her in a different direction. Back to the Salvatore house.

It was the first place Damon had retreated to after Lily died. The Heretics took off and left his humble abode vacant. He was glad, as it contained the only viable wine cellar in the entire town.

He alerted Matt as soon as he could about the car crash but the new sheriff had no good news to offer. He was busy searching through the local radio feeds to see if any accidents had been reported but none caught his attention. Bonnie was really gone.

'So,' started Elena, 'let me get this straight. Bonnie knew the stone could bring her back but she still chose to die?'

Damon nodded.

'Death chose me. I'm not suicidal,' retorted Bonnie, crossing her arms.

Elena's doe eyes brimmed with tears, more so at Damon losing his best friend, than her own. 'I'm so sorry,'

She leaned in and placed her lips on Damon's. The innocent peck led to an impassioned kiss fused with urgency. They were hungry for each other and they weren't afraid to show it.

Elena wrapped her legs around his waist and he pushed her towards the wall. Right next to where Bonnie was stood. Damon felt a cold draught where the dead witch was standing, mouth slightly agape. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the oak panelling. Elena took that as a hint and wiped her mouth, straightening up her clothes.

'No,' Damon stopped her.

'Are you sure-?'

'We're not done,' he snarled, in a way that expressed arousal, not hatred, before dragging her up to his bedroom.

Bonnie slid down the wall and covered her ears. _Let me go, Damon. I don't want to hear this._


	13. Chapter 13

Time was immeasurable where Bonnie was.

The 'Other Other Side', as she had aptly named it, wasn't lonely. The sea of mysterious faces, including her grandmother's, visited her again as she walked through the woods. But as usual, they faded, reaching the canopy of leaves above her head and disappearing.

Damon was keeping her tethered to the mortal world.

Whenever he thought of her, she was pulled back within his physical perimeter, and that included his bedroom.

'Wow,' said Elena, rolling over, breathless.

'Wanna go again?' asked Damon, with his signature side grin.

'As tempting as that sounds, I can't. I promised I'd visit Car today. I gotta shower.'

'I could join you-'

'Shush, I'll see you later,' Elena giggled like a giddy school girl. She hopped off the bed and let the sheets fall to the floor, winking as she did so. Her ass was on full display as she strolled off to the ensuite. It had been three weeks and Bonnie still couldn't get used to seeing her best friend naked.

'Gross,' she remarked, stuffing her mouth with popcorn she found in the kitchen. She was still able to physically touch objects but how they were affected in the real world, she had no idea.

Damon's smile faded the second Elena disappeared. Sex with Elena was starting to get old. She turned him on, yes but there was nothing beyond that. Even starting a conversation was difficult. He didn't know how long he could keep up this facade. _What's wrong with you_ , he scolded himself. Elena was perfect. She was everything he had ever wanted and more. But she wasn't Bonnie.

 _Get over it, she's never coming back._

With Bonnie, it had been different. She didn't want to save him all the time like Elena did. She played the hero but it was of her own accord. And most of all, she gave Damon scope to speak his mind.

He wondered how it would feel to touch her mocha-coloured skin and watch each goosebump rise, as if they had all the time in the world.

He missed her scent. It's all he could think about and it drove him crazy. Fresh laundry with a touch of Versace Bright Crystal perfume. Bonnie made Caroline look like a slob with the way she spent hours at Whitmore's laundrette.

She chewed on her popcorn and spat the kernel in his direction. _Pervert_.

Damon instantly slapped the side of his neck, like he was swatting a fly but there was nothing there. He was sure he felt something and looked around the empty room.

Bonnie stopped chewing. This was a first. 'Uh, grams?'

Her grandmother appeared by her side; her watchful protector in this mystery realm. She was one of the voices pulling her towards the 'light'. But Bonnie was trapped, so all her grams could do was be summoned and offer guidance.

'This is certainly new,' she said, wary of what she had just witnessed.

'Grams, how is this possible?'

'I don't know, dear. The ancestors never mentioned this to me.'

'Our two worlds can't coexist past physical boundaries!'

'Don't teach me what I already know, child. I'm as confused as you are. Hm.'

And with that, she disappeared, leaving Bonnie mortified.

'Damon?'

She narrowed her eyes and waited for a reply.

But Damon was trying to gain some shuteye, exhausted.

A minute of silence had passed.

Nothing.

And then his eyes flew open, the icy stare starting to melt on sight.

'Bonnie.'


	14. Chapter 14

'You can see me...' replied Bonnie, her breath caught in her throat.

She started to walk towards him, around the side of his bed, but Damon was still staring straight ahead where he had seen his best friend a moment ago.

'You can't see me...' noted Bonnie, her smile turning into a downcast frown.

Damon sighed and shook his head. _You're going crazy._

He leapt off the bed, unclothed. Bonnie looked away modestly. It was one thing seeing Elena naked but Damon? _Not in this lifetime...or deathtime_. Or whatever her ghostly existence was called.

'Nice ass', she joked as he put his boxers on.

'Now who's the pervert?'

The witch gasped, slightly confused. He could hear her somehow but not see her.

She seemed to be a flicker, flashing on and off, sometimes in his vision, sometimes in his head.

'Damon, can you hear me?' she asked, waving a hand in his face.

Nothing. _That's odd._

'It sure is,' said Grams, popping out of thin air.

'Grams, can you be a little discreet?'

'Hush child. Nobody else can see your bright red cheeks or read the shameful thoughts in your head.'

Bonnie felt her face grow hotter, 'Gimme a break, I'm only human.'

'Remember what he did to your mother.'

'Mother didn't exactly object,' she spat back.

'He's always going to be a monster.'

'And she's always going to be an awful mother. Nothing's going to change that. She loves being a vampire now and I can't blame her because she gets to live forever.'

'Immortality isn't what it seems-'

'We die every time the world or God or whoever is up there decides to snap their damn fingers. So you know what? Immortality wouldn't be such a bad idea.'

'Insolent child, I thought I taught you better than to defend bloodsucking leeches.'

'He's not just any bloodsucking leech, Grams. He's my friend. Are we done here?'

The old woman shook her head and disappeared, bitterly disappointed at her granddaughter.

In the meantime, Damon had taken a trip downstairs to make some breakfast.

Bonnie walked into the kitchen to find pancakes.

'Pancakes again? They are _so_ 1994, Damon.'

He smirked on cue. It was just a voice in his head, he was sure. His smirk soon turned into a straight, hard line.

All of his thoughts swam into Bonnie's head like someone had opened the floodgates.

It was hard to pinpoint one emotion. He was sad, he was guilty, he felt loved but couldn't return the same love to Elena. It tore him up inside to picture Bonnie in Elena's place and wish her dead again. Everything was a lot simpler the past few months.

'Really?' snorted Bonnie. 'You think all the Heretic drama made life simple?'

 _You know what I mean_ , Damon shot back silently. And funnily enough, she did. They had to save Elena once while she was sleeping. That was a new record.

Bonnie covered Damon's hand with her own and he flinched from the ice cold contact.

He blinked several times, watching the small hand materialise into hands, feet, a torso and finally a face. A face he loved more than his own.

'Bonnie...' he whispered, cupping her heart-shaped face and inspecting it from every angle.

'You're real- wait, how are you here?'

Bonnie shrugged her shoulders as it was all she could do - her jaw was still locked tight in his hands.

He swooped down and kissed her, releasing one hand to pull her close to him.

The dull ache in both their hearts eased. This felt right. More right than kissing Elena or Jeremy.

Five seconds into the kiss and Bonnie was pushing Damon away.

'Damon!'

'I'm not going to apologise, okay? I've wanted to do that for a long time and I saw an opportunity and I'm surprised you don't wanna carry on. For the record, I'm a great kisser-'

'The pancakes, Damon. They're burning.'

* * *

AN: I'm so so so so (x100) sorry for being so late with this update! I had a job during my Xmas vacation and I'm back to uni next week and I have a ton of assignments due on Monday! I hope this was worth it. I'll try and update in the next couple of weeks. Lemme know what you thought!


	15. Chapter 15

"To hell with the pancakes, Bonnie," said Damon, tossing the inedible lumps of flour and milk in the trashcan before they had a chance to cool.

But before Bonnie had a chance to answer back and bask in this newfound happiness, Elena had walked into the kitchen.

"Oh crap," she muttered to herself, hiding near Damon and stupidly hoping she couldn't be seen.

"Elena? I thought you went to see Caroline?"

"Yeah, I came to grab my phone. I left it upstairs, I think."

"Oh. Okay. Did you find it?"

She nodded in response but suspiciously inched closer to the vampire as confusion clouded her doe eyes.

"Who were you talking to?"

Damon had three options and only an awkward moment's worth of time to choose one.

One: admit it was Bonnie and explain why he didn't mention her arrival straightaway to Elena which would lead to mentioning the kiss; something she had probably witnessed anyway.

Two: lie and say it was nobody and risk looking like an idiot if Elena had indeed seen him making out with something with his back turned.

And three: ask Elena again if she had found her phone to revert to the previous subject and still risk looking like an idiot because chances are, she had seen him making out with something with his back turned.

But he didn't have to make such a difficult decision just yet because Bonnie stepped out into the open from behind the counter, rambling like she had never rambled before.

"Look, Elena, it just happened and it wasn't supposed to and I'm really sorry. Damon started it but I shouldn't have let it continue for as long as it did and I know I crossed the line. It won't happen again. I know you just got him back but I suppose he just got me back too and got really excited and, well, you know Damon and his reaction to certain things. Anyway, it didn't mean anything so..."

Bonnie stopped herself in her tracks.

She couldn't lie.

Not this time.

"Actually, no," she sighed. "That's a lie. It didn't not mean anything. It...it meant something."

She glanced at Damon, hoping that he would intercede or just nod or give any indication that she was saying the right thing but he didn't even look her way.

The silence was eating away at her fragile state of mind as she waited for an answer.

"Back me up here?"

"Uh..." he managed finally. But it was a response to Elena's question, not Bonnie's.

And that's when it struck the poor witch.

She realised she couldn't be seen.

She also realised she couldn't be heard.

But most of all, she realised that she was back at square one, stuck between supernatural dimensions.

 _You have got to be kidding me._

* * *

 **AN** : Hello...it's me. You're probably wondering if after all these months, I'd try to post...a new chapter...for you guys...

Crappy cliches aside, welcome back to my fanfic! I can't even begin to explain why I was away for so long but a lovely fan message convinced me to submerge myself in the world of fanfics again so here I am. Thank you to all the new readers who decided to follow this fanfic in the hopes that I'd post a new chapter. Means a lot to me!

Btdubs, I haven't watched the show since last Christmas so I have no clue what's going on. Thus, everything I write from now on will be entirely made up and unrelated to the tv plot. I'm open to any new ideas/suggestions so don't be shy. Enjoy!


	16. Chapter 16

Later that night, Damon struggled to sleep.

He went with option three, stupidly repeating his question about the cellphone. Elena had nodded in reply and ran back upstairs to pack an overnight bag. Resurrection had been painfully overwhelming for her too but not as painful as Damon's odd behaviour and lack of communication. Caroline would know what to do. Heck, Caroline would at least welcome her back to the land of the living with open arms. Which was more than she could say about her boyfriend.

 _Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

Damon groaned.

The hands of the clock on his wall were a comfort to him once upon a time. The soft sounds used to ease his breathing pattern into a guided rhythm which helped him sleep. One, breathe in - - three, breathe out.

But there was more to the story.

The antique clock was given to him by a duchess whose name he cared little to remember, as a means of saying thank you for everything he did to make her final few days as a single woman 'comfortable'. It served as a constant reminder that Damon was immortal; that time could never determine the course of his life like it did with humans.

But now, two hundred years later, immortality had lost all meaning.

Time was cruel to him now.

Time taunted Damon, telling him that he couldn't spend any of it with Bonnie.

And poor Bonnie lay next to him, reading his face like an open book.

 _When did you start overthinking things? Who are you?_

Damon was a complex being, that was no secret. But the constant push and pull of his heartstrings was tiring. His mind darted back and forth in odd patterns.

 _Elena. Bonnie. No. Elena. But, Bonnie...weigh 'em up. Pros and cons. Pros and cons? Don't be a testa di minchia, Damon. What in the world? The only time you insult yourself in Italian is never. Mio dio, what is happening to you?_

It felt like he was yelling a one-way conversation with his mouth shut.

"Damon, would you cut it out?"

Then all of a sudden, he was yelling with his mouth open. He couldn't take it anymore. He was torn and couldn't tell the difference between Bonnie and Elena; loyalty and servitude.

"Stupid. Fucking. Clock!"

The little witch flinched. The impact of Damon's cellphone hitting the antique clock sent waves of anger and frustration flying around the room. So much so that Bonnie was pulled back to the real world.

Damon immediately sensed the heat emanating from the body of his little witch. He turned his frown upside down. His heart swelled to the size of his ego but he wasn't about to give that away.

"Hello again," he greeted casually, turning his head.

Bonnie froze.

"You can see me again?"

"I sure can."

Her eyes averted from his piercing eyes to his hungry smirk.

"Oh."

"So...about what you were saying in the kitchen earlier..."

* * *

 **AN** : **Uh-oh, looks like Damon _did_ hear witchy's confession after all. **

This next vignette could either be sappy, sweet or sassy. **Take** **your pick.**

Quick welcome to new readers and a thank you to the old ones who stuck around!


	17. Chapter 17

"I didn't say anything," said Bonnie, wanting to the play out the conversation longer than necessary.

"Mmm, I'm pretty sure you did, Bon-bon."

The witch propped herself on her elbows, desperately trying to control her racing heart.

"Oh! Ha, I remember."

"Took you long enough."

"You're talking about the pancakes!"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Ha. Ha. Hilarious. We need to talk about what happened before you pull another vanishing act."

"Alright," she sighed. 'You want to talk? We'll talk. But first, I have a question."

"Shoot."

"Why did you act like you couldn't see or hear me?"

"I had _you_ standing on one side of the room and _Elena_ standing on the other. She clearly couldn't see you which means she didn't even see us kiss. What was I supposed to say? _I was talking to a very vivid hallucination of your dead best friend who, oh yeah, I just locked lips with?_ "

"I'm very real, I assure you."

"You say that but then you end up whizzing away to another dimension. And then, you decide to pop back into my life whenever you feel the need to haunt me."

This time, Bonnie rolled her eyes. She didn't enjoy this reunion as much as she had hoped, especially not when assumptions were thrown her way.

"I'm sorry, _what_?! Did you really just say that I keep coming back of my own accord?"

Bonnie climbed off the bed and crossed her arms accusingly. Damon saw a glint of something in her brown eyes which gave him even more reason to press her for answers: jealousy.

"Yep, that's exactly what I said."

"Oh, you are so full of it. Look, I have no idea why the voodoo Gods pick me up and throw me back into your bedroom every time you're being a crybaby or you're having sex. But I sure as hell don't decide to spend my doomed eternity staring at your naked body every single day."

Damon faux-gasped.

"Stare? You _stare_?" he emphasised.

"I meant-"

"That is a major gamechanger, witchy."

"I hate you."

"If only you did," spoke a gruff, disappointed voice from behind, "then you wouldn't be stuck here wandering like a lost lamb."

It was Grams, looking less ethereal as when she appeared in the woods from time to time. The dim lighting in Damon's bedroom made her look even more downcast than she felt.

"Grams!"

"Where?" asked Damon.

"He can't communicate with me, child."

"You can't communicate with her," grinned Bonnie, reporting back to the curious vampire.

She was actually glad of this. Grams was prone to revealing things Bonnie already knew but didn't want to admit. Not to herself, at least.

"Darn it," sighed Damon, sinking back into his pillow.

"She sends her love though."

"If by love, you mean she'd rather see me spit-roasted in hellfire while she pulls up a lawn chair, seated next to the devil with a bowl of popcorn to watch me then yes, she's definitely sending her love."

The old woman was unimpressed.

"He's dramatic."

Bonnie agreed. "He's Damon."


	18. Chapter 18

She turned to her grandmother who watched her in disdain.

"I see the way he looks at you, child."

Bonnie said nothing.

"He's in love with you. And it's eating you alive."

"Not possible. I'm dead, remember?" she shot back sarcastically.

"Don't act smart with me, Bonnie. I came to deliver some insight into your...situation."

"And?"

"And the fact of the matter is, you're a ghost. But it's the fragments of memories and feelings remembered and felt towards you which keeps you shackled to the mortal world."

"Wait, so what does that mean? And why Damon?" she asked, pushing the thought of him loving her to the back of her mind. It was Elena. It was always Elena.

"It means that as long as people love you or hate you deeply enough, you're able to leave an imprint on Earth and these imprints can materialise, piece by piece into something tangent, such as your body. And of course, your ability to interact with the mortal world. As for Damon...his mark on you is the strongest. Not to mention his grief and guilt over causing your death...so your mark on him is much more powerful than he can explain. Therefore you're bound to him and he is bound to you. You're haunting him, in simpler terms."

Bonnie exhaled, trying to process everything as quickly as she could.

"Okay, so if we're able to convince Damon somehow to, I dunno, not feel guilty about my death anymore, I won't be stuck and I could die properly-"

"Ladies, I can't deny that I'm loving the casual name-dropping and attention right now but can you please explain what's happening, Bon-bon?" Damon interrupted, frowning at the blank space where Grams stood and glared at him.

"Long story short, you're pretty much the reason I can't die. And we need to fix that."

"You're not dying again, Bonnie. Not on my watch."

"Cut the knight in shining armour crap. I'm supposed to be dead. I'm stuck because of you and your amazing decision-making skills. _Bonnie or Elena? Elena or Bonnie?_ " she mimicked, pulling a face.

"Woah there, judgey. I can easily stop thinking about you if that's all it takes. You're special but you're not _that_ special. "

"You literally cannot stop thinking about me."

"You wish."

"Explain why you were thinking of me when you saw Elena at your front door then."

"Mutual connections. You died and she came back because of it."

"Why did you think of me when you were sleeping with Elena?"

"Mutual connections again. I'm a womaniser. It's what I do. I think of Elena, I think of sex and I think of women. You just happen to be a woman."

"Bullshit."

"Next question."

"And when Elena left the room? Why did you think of me then?"

"Because you always walk away from me too. People have legs. They walk-"

"Really? Walking?"

"You didn't let me finish, judgey. You walk away because I always hurt you. That's not the same with Elena."

"Oh, so we don't have as much in common as you think."

"No, you don't. She can't compare."

Damon inched closer to Bonnie.

Bonnie forgot how to breathe and felt herself taking slow paces backwards.

"Cat got your tongue?" growled Damon. "I'll answer your next question. Why did I think of you when I came down for breakfast? Why did I make our signature pancakes? Because being stuck in a prison world with you was the best thing that ever happened to me. But I'm gonna forget it. And I'm gonna feel nothing. That's what you want right?"

Bonnie found herself trapped between Damon and the wall.

"Yes."

"And you also want me to say that earlier it was just a kiss so you can ride off into the sunset of death valley and never come back right? Well, there you have it. It was just a kiss."

Bonnie threw back her head and laughed hysterically. She wasn't sure if it she was having a nervous breakdown or whether Damon had truly lost his talent for lying.

But she could see it clearly now. She was in love with him. And he was in love with her too, no matter how hard he was trying to prove otherwise.

"Grams was right. You love me, Damon."

"In your dreams," joked Damon. But he knew it was true. "I love you" were just three words they didn't need to say out loud to prove their worth. "I'll kiss you again just to wipe that smirk off your face, Bonnie, I swear."

"You wouldn't."

"Oh, I would."

And so he did. But it didn't do anything to wipe off anybody's smirk. Minds wandered off to fantasy lands which didn't exist and hands wandered off to places which did, leaving trails of goosebumps all over.

Damon stopped himself. He tilted his chin and called out to the old woman, who he still couldn't see or hear.

"You win, Grandma Bennett. Show's over. Bonnie and I have a _lot_ of catching up to do."

* * *

 **AN: And there you have it. It finally happened.**

This chapter really feels like a conclusion. I feel as though anything beyond this would just be drama such as Delena breaking up and Bamon one-shots or whatever. I also don't see the point of introducing a new supernatural relic or villain just for the sake of milking this out. But I hope I tied things together well enough for you guys.

All good things must come to an end and I hope you enjoyed this short (lol jk) but wonderful journey with me!

Thanks for reading.

Much love.

\- SuburbanSherlock


	19. AN: Further Plot Explanation

Based on one of the guest reviews for the last chapter (which I can't reply to), **I thought I'd clear some things up**.

Bonnie is still technically a ghost but as Grams explained, **she can materialise and become human again**. It all **depends on the people around her.**

Of course, Damon thinks of her 24/7 so he gets to see her. Elena doesn't, so she can't see Bonnie. If she was consumed by grief the way Damon was, she'd be able to see her too.

Bonnie messed around with the Phoenix stone when she shouldn't have and this is **nature's way of punishing her.** Eventually as the love grows stronger between Bamon, her soul/spirit/whatever, as well as her physical body would be **permanently** tethered back to the real world.

Basically, every time she brought someone back from the dead, **a little piece of her soul was ripped away and thrown into this weird Other Other Side** , where she was trapped.

And **now, it's a waiting game** to see if Damon's love for her is strong enough to glue all of these scattered pieces together.

 **Damon realising he loved Bonnie was the first step. One of many.**

 **And if he firmly believes he's made the right decision, it'll be powerful enough to help Bonnie come back to the real world.**

 **If he continues struggling with his melodrama about which woman he loves, then Bonnie will be trapped, only returning whenever he wants her to.**

 **If he surrenders and gives into losing his humanity and/or forgetting about his feelings for Bonnie, she'll ascend to wherever all the rest of the dead people go.**

Apologies if this wasn't clear in the final few chapters. I didn't realise how difficult it would be to invent my own supernatural plots.

I hope it helped though!

 _\- SuburbanSherlock_

 **P.S** I can't guarantee an epilogue but I would be more than happy to brainstorm and write a final send-off using any ideas you guys might have/like to see.


	20. Epilogue

◆ **EPILOGUE** ◆

* * *

"What do you think?"

"It's- hm, it's nice. From like a certain angle. In the light. If you stand _all_ the way over here."

"You're a bad liar."

"Sorry. I'm sure it was nice back in the 1800s."

"It was. It's my childhood home. I've been thinking of restoring it someday."

The couple had taken a trip to Italy a few months after Bonnie graduated college, one they felt they both deserved after all the chaos and studying.

Bonnie observed the ruins of Casa di Salvatore, no longer standing in all its former glory, remembering the story about the fire which took place years before.

"That's a great idea. It'll look good whatever you decide to do with it. No offence though, we're not staying here for our vacation, right?"

"None taken, Bon-bon. And no. Our hotel isn't here. I just wanted to visit this place. Don't worry. I won't leave you to die in ash, dry rot and woodworms."

Bonnie sighed in relief but Damon looked deadpan, staring at his old house.

"What is it?"

He locked eyes with a steady, apologetic gaze that made Bonnie feel like they were the only two people left in the world.

"Nothing, I- sorry, I'm an ass. Death jokes aren't funny. Especially with everything that's happened here too. You've already died because of me."

"No, I died because I stupidly decided to park along the highway and listen to voicemail."

"It was _my_ voicemail though."

"You're going soft on me again."

"Am I? Wait. Now that I think about it, you _were_ a damsel in distress and I _was_ your knight in shining armour after all."

"Oh no. I spoke too soon."

"Think about it though! I was technically the only person who could save you."

"Mmm, that's not exactly true," argued Bonnie, counting people in her head. "Elena could have or Caroline or even Enzo-"

"Enzo, ugh, that _bastardo, figlio di puttana, pezzo di merda_ -," muttered Damon under his breath.

"You're doing that thing again where you transform into an angry Italian motormouth."

"With good reason! He tried copping a feel at our going-away party, Bonnie. He ain't allowed to do that to my girlfriend."

"Okay, a) he was super drunk and b) did you just call me your girlfriend?"

"Maybe."

"I like the sound of that."

"Come closer, I'll say it again."

The crisp autumn leaves crunched under the witch's boots as she pranced towards the vampire.

She peered up at him as he snaked his arms around her petite waist.

"Bonnie Bennett. I am so lucky to call-"

She held her breath, waiting for this new title to roll off his tongue.

"-myself your hero! All praise Ser Damon Salvatore, Saviour of Mystic Falls maidens."

She let out a groan and let go of him. "Unbelievable."

Damon laughed at his own mischief and pulled her body towards him rather symbolically to kiss her.

Bonnie couldn't deny that Damon's little ego trips and his softer side actually made him more charming than she ever thought possible.

And likewise, Damon couldn't deny that Bonnie's penchant for exasperated remarks and her tougher side made her more endearing than he ever thought possible.

All in all, Bonnie and Damon knew they fit like two lonely souls in a prison world, two raised hands in a witch's spell, two fangs in a vampire mouth.

And _that_ , was all that mattered.

* * *

 **AN:** Dun dun duuuuun! *roll the credits*

Now the story has officially come to an end. The last few updates were a bit of a whirlwind in the way I came up with ideas to wrap it up and edit everything so I hope it was satisfying. I know I keep repeating myself but thank you again. It was fun while it lasted.

 _\- SuburbanSherlock_


End file.
